The passage of Proposition 8 in California, effectively banning gay marriage once again after a brief respite this year, has cast a pall as thick as that generated by the state's current wildfires. It has led to an impassioned, fiery response from gays and lesbians nationwide. A grassroots campaign on Facebook and a website named Join the Impact started days ago by a 26-year-old woman from Seattle generated a weekend series of rallies in cities all across America.

Legal recourse has been taken. Lambda Legal (a non-profit LA organisation) joined with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Centre for Lesbian Rights and six unmarried same sex couples in a writ charging that what has transpired is a revision to the California constitution which contains equal protection for minorities. It charges that revisions to the constitution must be approved by the legislature and cannot be put to the popular vote. In response, the state's attorney general was directed to file a preliminary opposition to the measure. "That's quite quick," insists Jenny Pizer, senior counsel for Lambda Legal whose purview extends beyond any future legal decision. "I really hope this prompts a broader recognition on the part of lots of people in California about what is wrong at the heart of Prop. 8. Many people are recognising a need to have a lot more conversations that may be challenging but are terribly important."

Pizer says the matter may be taken up at Wednesday's meeting of the state's supreme court justices. "Or it may not. The court has a great amount of discretion about the procedure. They may issue an order on Wednesday setting the matter for consideration. It could be another week or a couple of weeks. We just have to sit back."

Many are not prepared to wait. Anger and resentment are manifesting themselves not only in peaceful rallies but in angrier outpourings, notably boycotts of business and individuals known to have donated to the "Yes on Prop. 8" campaign. El Coyote Mexican Cafe is that rare restaurant bird in LA, 78-years-old and making its living from every conceivable demographic. But its gay clientele is up in arms because the owner's Mormon daughter, Marjorie Christofferson, donated $100 to the campaign for Proposition 8.

On El Coyote's unofficial gay night, which apparently hundreds of longtime customers agreed to boycott, I meet Carmine Salvucci and Steve Brister, who crossed some semblance of a picket line (100 or so protestors) to dine with their 13-year-old adopted Latino son Baltazar Martinez. After 19 years together, they married in their back garden on November 1, as did many other Californian couples worried that it might be their last opportunity to do so. (The status of their marriage is now uncertain.) Brister says he was subjected to a hostile "e-attack" on Facebook for announcing his intention to go to El Coyote. "I was like, 'I don't even know some of you people and you're telling me how to think, feel and act.' That's the exact thing I'm fighting against in the world and that's the total irony." Salvucci concurs: "Are you going to bankrupt someone into supporting you?" Tongue inching into cheek, he ponders asking where their drycleaner stands on Prop 8. "Really, at some point, you've just gotta live."

We ran into a close friend of the couple's protesting outside. Paul Santello also married his partner prior to the November 4 election and in lieu of gifts, he asked friends to donate money to the "No on Prop. 8" campaign. "The way forward for the gay community is to stand up and yell and scream until no one can ignore us any more. It's basic civil rights and it's what's worked in the past."

Most agree that the way forward should be peaceful, yet Billy Schoeppner, an openly gay manager at El Coyote, says he stopped reading the restaurant's vitriolic emails. It received 227 one day, 459 the next as word of Cristofferson's donation spread. "Some of it is hateful."

El Coyote is not alone. A health food chain called Lassen's has been targeted. There are also concerns about the Sundance Film Festival in January, which books many screens from the Cinemark cinema chain. Cinemark also donated to "Yes on 8". But it is virtually impossible to glean the future effects of such actions or how many are involved.

There is already talk of putting gay marriage to the ballot test once more in 2010 should the state supreme court not set aside Prop. 8. In the meantime, many hope for a more positive grassroots campaign to emerge, phoenix-like from the aftermath as opposed to increased conflagration. Gloria Nieto is one of those people. As a "No on 8" campaign manager in northern California, she has her own antidote to the boycotts.

"I prefer a buycott to a boycott. Yahoo, Apple and Google all opposed Prop. 8 and people should buy from companies that support gay rights."